Wednesday, January 13, 2016

During her first year in office, Libby Schaaf flipped the script in Oakland

Mayor Libby Schaaf's biggest first-year

accomplishment was her ability to flip

the script in Oakland.

OAKLAND | Perhaps no event had more potential to derail Libby Schaaf’s young mayoral administration than the May 1 mayhem in which protesters swarmed Oakland Auto Row, breaking windows and setting cars ablaze.

The police response was torpid. Police Chief Sean Whent later conceded that his department was ill-prepared for the all-too predictable May Day protest, which targeted law enforcement following a nationwide epidemic of suspicious police killings of young black men and women. The spasm of vandalism destroyed hundreds of thousand of dollars in property.

Oakland businessman Erich Horat sprayed his disillusionment in big block letters on the plywood covering his auto shop’s shattered windows. “Oakland Police, you failed your city again.” Horat later replaced that message with an angrier one that seemed like it could permanently shape the reputation of Oakland’s new mayor: “Riot Tourism—Visit Oakland—Schaaf and Whent will show you which block to trash.”

Such challenges often afflicted Oakland during the four-year term of Schaaf’s predecessor, Jean Quan. But from Quan’s early mishandling of Occupy Oakland all the way to her eventual assurance that a Middle Eastern prince would help save Oakland’s Raiders, the former mayor’s demeanor, hesitation, and missteps frequently trumped the many positive things happening in Oakland. It didn’t take long for the media to start ravaging the prior mayor, and anti-Quan rhetoric quickly morphed into an all-too-familiar strain of Oakland-bashing. Quan never recovered from this avalanche of criticism, ultimately losing to Schaaf in a landslide.

Oakland’s new mayor has confronted many similar challenges. But over the past year, Schaaf has demonstrated an ability to frame Oakland’s narrative on her own terms. Her navigation is usually deft, but she has shown that she can change course when necessary. Grave issues still confront Oakland—some more seriously than a year ago. Yet Schaaf has made a good show of grappling with The Town’s historic challenges, and evidence of action—if not yet actual accomplishment—is about the best that one can hope for during any new mayor’s first year in office.

After the presidency, being a big city mayor is perhaps the second-toughest job in American politics. Mayoral candidates run on their own agenda, but they must govern based on the agenda of their constituents. As a candidate, Schaaf promised a larger police force; as a mayor she has encountered a nationwide backlash against the police, which has been exacerbated by seven officer-involved shootings in Oakland in recent months. As a candidate, she promised to usher in a wave of dense new residential construction; as a mayor, she has seen the housing affordability crisis spawn hostility to such development as the supposed agent of gentrification. As a candidate, she pledged to offer reasoned, disciplined governance; as mayor she has had to concede that the city’s initial reaction to the Black Lives Matter protests was halting, often ineffective, and hella expensive. And as a candidate, the effervescent Schaaf led cheers for Oakland; but as mayor she has been forced to weigh in on evictions, senseless slayings, budgetary shortfalls, police shootings, and the distinct possibility that all three of Oakland’s pro sports teams might leave town on her watch. Such is the life of a big-city mayor.

While Schaaf’s first year in office was not error-free, the mayor is stronger on her anniversary than she was one year ago. Crime is down, investment is up, downtown is alive, construction is about to boom, and most Oaklanders feel better about the city than they did one year ago. And the surprisingly resilient mayor has emerged with her priorities and her buoyant optimism intact. Not that the old Oakland storyline doesn’t still pop up from time to time: The city is crime-ridden, its police are corrupt, its schools are wretched, its bureaucracy is inept, and the city council’s circus act just illustrates Oakland’s inability to evolve. Still, on the balance, the East Bay’s largest city hasn’t had a better reputation in generations. Not surprisingly, a recent Oakland Chamber of Commerce poll found that Schaaf had a 68 percent approval rating among registered voters.

For these and other reasons, we’re naming Libby Schaaf Oakland and Alameda magazine’s inaugural Person of the Year. Schaaf is adapting to some of the notable changes that have occurred in Oakland even since her election, and yet she displays a courageous willingness to push her priorities and the apparent ability to bring them to life. Perhaps no East Bay citizen unaffiliated with the Golden State Warriors has dominated the news more than Schaaf, and no one else presided over more feel-good moments.READ THE ENTIRE PROFILE IN OAKLAND MAGAZINE

5 comments:

It's called the honeymoon time, pal. Jean Quan looked pretty good her first year as mayor too.

Positive changes in Oakland have nothing to do with what Libby Schaaf has "accomplished" in her first months. Keep in mind that OPD Chief Whent was appointed by Quan, not Schaaf and that other developments that are looking good at present were also begun in the Quan years.

In Oakland the chickens are sure to come home to roost. Libby Schaaf will have a showdown with reality before long.

"Crime is down, investment is up, downtown is alive, construction is about to boom, and most Oaklanders feel better about the city than they did one year ago."

Evidence, please. What goes through your mind hasn't necessarily anything to do with reality.

"The city is crime-ridden, its police are corrupt, its schools are wretched, its bureaucracy is inept, and the city council’s circus act just illustrates Oakland’s inability to evolve."

Schaaf's only work experience comes from many years of going-along in order to get along with city hall.

Important to remember that Schaaf is the developer's baby, endorsed by none other than the neoliberal Jerry B. Schaaf was elected when most voters decided not to vote. Schaaf raised the most money, most of it from out-of-town, and there is ample room to look at any evidence of her "progressive" scruples.

Of course, to a sports-groupie, neoliberal, "writer," Schaaf could well be a real charmer.

There is huge crimes in Oakland not being reported. Even rioters, protestors vandalism goes unpunished. OPD under Libby do nothing for justice, they under report crimes, just like Chicago and Detroit. Libby of Oakland is Rahm of Chicago.